Chapters 15 and 16
Chapter 15 CHAPTER SUMMARY Dill is allowed to stay by his mother and comes up with a 'foolproof plan to make Boo Radley come out'. A group of neighbours come to their home and Atticus goes outside to talk to them. They speak of Tom Robinson and how he is being moved to county jail the next day and they are warning Atticus that they are 'uneasy' about the Old Sarum bunch, worried that they might cause trouble. Atticus then explains to Jem that he's never heard of a gang in Maycomb and that he has nothing to worry about. He says that the Ku Klux is gone and will never come back. Tom Robinson is moved and Atticus is not happy about it. He goes and sits outside county jail and Jem, Dill and Scout go and find him there and then head home. On the way they spot some men getting out of cars. The men go to Atticus and want Tom Robison but Atticus says no. Scout then runs to Atticus expecting him to be happy but instead she sees plain fear in his eyes. Atticus tries to send the kids home but Jem refuses and Scout starts to talk to Mr Cunnigham. Her friendliness and innocence convinces the mob to go home. Tom Robinson shows fear of the men and then Mr Underwood reveals that he was covering Atticus the whole time. Atticus strokes Jems hair instead of being angry. KEY QOUTATIONS & SOME ANALYSIS '-don't see why you touched it in the first place','You've got everything to lose from this' (Mr Link Dias, pg 151) Mr Link says this to Atticus in relation to him taking Tom Robinson's case showing his confusion as to why he took it, clearly showing the typical Maycomb view that helping a black person is out of the ordinary and makes no sense as there is no hope for that person because of their colour. Mr Links use of the word 'everything' displays just how deep the racism runs in their town as he is saying that because he is helping a black person he will lose all that he has, not just the case as the town might turn on him. 'You know what we want' (pg 157) This adds to the idea of deep running racism as some of the white men in the village have come to the jail to do what we assume is attack Tom Robinson because he is black. The fact that they don't even have to say what they want, they assume Atticus will 'know', shows how common racism was in town. They expect everyone to understand and feel the same way. 'Hey Mr Cunningham.' (Scout, pg 159) Harper Lee displays Scout's innocence when she starts to speak to Mr Cunningham about his business and his son showing her ignorance of the threatening situation that she is in. When Mr Cunningham eventually decides to tell the group of men to leave he says to Scout 'I'll tell him you said hey, little lady,' showing that he was obviously touched by her sweetness and conversation and does not want to hurt her because she was so polite and innocent. CONTEXT Men in the town are actually willing to go as far as to go to where Robinson is being kept and try to attack him, Showing that racism runs deep in Maycomb and is a common feeling as more than one person went to the jail for Tom Robinson. The fact that there were no women in the mob highlights the role of women and how they were expected to be quiet, controlled and would not be expected to be in this group.We can also see the idea of the deep running racism when Mr Link Dias shows his plain confusion as to why Atticus would take a black persons case as he has everything to lose from it. Chapter 16 CHAPTER SUMMARY Atticus and the children return home from the jail and scout can't sleep so she gets in bed with Jem. She cries and Jem comforts her. At breakfast they discuss how Braxton despises negroes and the whole community knows it. They then speak of how Mr Cunningham is a friend but he was willing to hurt Atticus to get to Tom Robinson and that confuses Jem. Scout says that she will hurt Walter Cunningham when they go back to school and Atticus tells her not to. That day lots of people in the community pass by their house. The children then speak to Miss Maudie and she tells them that she is not going to the court service even though it is public because she thinks it is morbid. The children go to the square where the white and black folk are sitting in separate places and they discuss mixed race people. everyone then moves into the court room and the children go upstairs to watch with reverend Sykes. KEY QUOTATIONS & SOME ANALYSIS 'He'da killed you last night' (Jem, pg 163) Jem is speaking about Mr Cunningham and how he is supposed to be a friend of Atticus yet he would have been willing to hurt him to get to Robinson. This clearly illustrates the lengths that people in Maycomb would go to to hurt a supposedly guilty black man and shows the strength of racism felt by the community. The fact that Jem said this perhaps shows that because he is a child and is so innocent, he has in a way an untainted view on the difference between black and white people and therefore believes that loyalty is more important than serving your own justice on a black person. 'In a far corner of the square, the negroes sat quietly' (pg 166) This clearly displays the split between white and black people. The image of the segregation is made more severe when Lee says that the 'negroes' are in a 'far corner', implicating that they cannot be even relatively close to the white people and are compressed into a small space. They are sitting 'quietly' which suggests that they are nervous, perhaps about the court case but also may be reluctant to be loud so as not to draw unwanted attention from any white people, as if they are not supposed to be speaking. CONTEXT Chapter 16 illustrates the depth of racism that is felt in Maycomb. Segregation is clear in the square and the court house. The role of women is highlighted as well when there are not that many women or children who go to the court case displaying that women were expected to stay at home with the children and perhaps are being protected from the upset that might be caused at the court service.